Mr. Speaker, on behalf of hundreds and hundreds of Canadians from coast to coast, I would like to present this petition.

Each year thousands of young Canadians from coast to coast express the desire to serve in society as volunteers in Canada or abroad. Some 40 countries worldwide have programs that enable this to happen. The petition calls on Parliament to enact legislation or take measures that would allow all young Canadians who wish to do so to serve in communities as volunteers at a national or international level.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present petitions from numerous people all across the country. The petitioners draw attention to the trafficking of women and children across international borders for the purposes of sexual exploitation. They call upon Parliament to protect the most vulnerable members of society from harm, those being the victims of human trafficking. These petitioners are from all over Canada, from Quebec, from Ontario, from B.C.

Today in Vancouver as we speak a raid is being carried out on brothels with an alleged connection to the human trafficking issue in our country.

The first is on behalf of residents of northern Ontario who are calling on Parliament to ensure lifetime surveillance and containment of released sex offenders as well as stricter penalties for violent behaviour against infants, toddlers and children.

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I wish to present is on behalf of residents of my riding who are calling upon Parliament to amend the Income Tax Act in order to permit a pension from a registered pension fund to be split between spouses.

Mr. Speaker, third, I wish to present a petition on behalf of the residents of Nipissing--Timiskaming who are calling upon the government to take all measures necessary to raise the age of consent from 14 to 16 years of age.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition that has been signed by members of my community of New Westminster, in Burnaby and in Coquitlam.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to pull back from the unbalanced counter-insurgency mission in southern Afghanistan, citing that it has no clear objectives, criteria for progress or definition of success. They say that the New Democratic Party has called for the withdrawal of Canadian Forces from this mission, that they support the brave men and women of the Canadian Forces.

They call upon the government to begin the orderly withdrawal of Canadian Forces from the counter-insurgency mission in southern Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table four petitions in the House today that have been signed by numerous constituents in my riding of Mississauga—Brampton South.

My constituents are concerned with the $1 billion budget cuts that were announced in September. Specifically, the four petitions call upon the government to restore the funding for the four following programs: $18 million for the adult literacy skills program; $6 million for the court challenges program; $5 million for the Status of Women; and $10 million for the youth international internship program.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by 1,500 Canadians. The petitioners call upon Parliament to take measures in order to allow a larger number of young people to do volunteer work in Canadian communities or abroad.

Volunteering gives young people an opportunity to engage in a rewarding experience, to acquire useful skills for their future and to contribute to the betterment of society. However, because of the lack of government funding to organizations offering such volunteer programs, the vast majority of young people interested in engaging in such an experience are not given the opportunity to do so.

Canada can hardly use a lack of financial resources as an excuse to justify this situation. This is why people are calling for concrete measures to make it easier for young people to do volunteer work.